Specialty Food Magazine

SUMMER 2024 37 Gary Chandler CHANDLER FOOD SALES For Gary Chandler, the specialty food industry has always been very much a family business. After getting a degree in economics, Chandler in 1973 joined Chandler Food Sales, a food brokerage that was launched by his father, Lindy Chandler, in 1966. The company originally focused on cookies and crackers, but it became a specialty food brokerage in 1978 after acquiring another existing company. "When he bought a specialty food broker, I thought, 'What in the world? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard,'" says Gary Chandler. "But we transitioned into specialty food, and we've been doing that ever since." The family-owned company, which has existed continuously in some form since 1932, is now owned by Gary Chandler's son and nephews, as he prepares to retire this year. Lindy Chandler was named into the SFA Hall of Fame in 2016, recognizing the company's pioneering efforts in the specialty food industry, a tradition Gary Chandler has perpetuated through his commitment to emerging brands and companies. The company has contributed to the success of hundreds of specialty food brands, especially in the shelf-stable, natural, and organic space, as well as to the success of the retailers with which the company works. For Chandler, the family-like nature of the business also extends to the relationships built with the companies he helped grow through the years. "Even though it's become a huge industry, you still kind of know everybody," he says. "Even if a company fires us, we strive to continue being friends of theirs, and we don't burn any bridges." The company's focus on a limited number of specialty food brands has been one of the keys to its success, Chandler says. "The big food brokers would carry 150 different lines, but we keep our portfolio down to about 35, and try to make those the number one in their category," he says. Some of the brands that Chandler Food Sales represents have been on its roster since he joined more than 50 years ago. "What I enjoy the most about the job is no two days are alike," says Chandler. "Every day presents its own set of problems, or a new set of goals or things to do."—M.H. Cristiano Creminelli CREMINELLI FINE MEATS/CHARCUTERIE ARTISANS Cristiano Creminelli's family has been creating artisanal meats and cheeses for generations in Italy, and it didn't take him long to turn that Old World craftsmanship into a highly successful specialty food business in the U.S. Starting out in 2007 in the basement of Caputo's Market & Deli in Salt Lake City, Creminelli used his family's salami recipe to build a specialty food empire, Creminelli Fine Meats, that has won numerous awards for its premium salami and other products. The growth of the company, which Creminelli founded with partners Chris Bowler and Jared Lynch, has been exponential. Creminelli recalls attending his first Fancy Food Show in San Diego in 2008, when the Moscone Center in San Francisco was being renovated. Several large retailers and foodservice companies expressed an interest in carrying his salami, but he had to tell them he was too small to meet their demands. He did reach an agreement with Whole Foods, however, to introduce his products one region at a time. "They said, 'We are going to give you one region, then another and another until you have all of the United States,'" Creminelli says. Creminelli soon relocated to larger facilities, and the company has been growing ever since as the company's products have expanded into more and more high-end supermarkets, specialty stores, and restaurants throughout the country. In 2019, a private equity firm acquired Creminelli Fine Meats and merged it with Danielle International, a Rhode Island-based maker of premium charcuterie and related products under the Danielle and Del Duca brands, as well as private labels. "For me, it was like Disneyland," says Creminelli, describing Danielle's state of the art factory and equipment, which enabled the company to expand into more products, including prosciutto. Now Creminelli is thinking about the next frontiers in charcuterie. "The new trend is the charcuterie made in Spain, and that's something that intrigues me a lot," he says, noting that he has friends in the La Mancha area that produce some of the best hams in the world. "I hope to be able to go and spend a couple of months and learn the technique. That is my goal right now." —M.H. 2024 Hall of Fame Inductees

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